Gallaudet University

In the 2027 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, Gallaudet University placed at number 179, steadily improving in recent years from rank 236 in 2024. Gallaudet maintains a relatively selective admissions process compared to institutions with similar standings. In 2025, the university posted an acceptance rate of 58.1%, which is higher than 3% of peer schools among similarly ranked private comprehensive universities. This lower acceptance rate relative to peers indicates a more competitive entry process than at typical institutions in this cohort. Once admitted, applicants show a strong inclination to enroll. The university recorded a yield rate of 60.7% in 2025, higher than all peer schools in its comparison group. Having more than half of admitted candidates choose to attend underscores the university's substantial draw for students seeking its specialized environment. For prospective applicants, these patterns mean that admission requires preparation despite moderate selectivity, and places in the entering class fill quickly with dedicated enrollees.

Applicants preparing to apply to Gallaudet University can gauge their academic profile using the institution's reported standardized testing benchmarks and grade distributions. For the entering class of 2025, the median SAT score among enrolled students was 890. This score is lower than all peer schools in a comparison group of 24 reporting private comprehensive universities, where the peer median stood at 1260. On the ACT, the middle fifty percent of enrolled students achieved composite scores ranging between 14 and 17. Standardized test submission patterns have shifted over time, with SAT submissions becoming the predominant exam submitted by students. Regarding high school preparation, historical records from the 2021–2022 academic cycle indicate that most admitted students entered with steady high school records ranging from average grades to honors-level performance. Because academic review considers overall readiness alongside these parameters, prospective applicants falling near or above these testing benchmarks will find their profiles well within range for standard admission.

Academic offerings at Gallaudet University are tightly focused on communication disorders, signing, and human behavioral sciences. At the undergraduate level, degrees are moderately concentrated, with the top three bachelor majors accounting for 32.1% of all bachelor's degrees awarded in 2025. The largest undergraduate fields include general psychology, deaf studies, and business administration. The university's highest-ranked programs are concentrated at the graduate level rather than among general undergraduate majors. In U.S. News graduate program rankings, Audiology was ranked 25th in 2026, while Speech-Language Pathology ranked 50th in 2026 and Social Work ranked 83rd in 2024. These nationally recognized departments feed directly into the school's active master's and doctoral cohorts, which train clinical specialists, educators, and researchers. For graduates entering the workforce, 2023 earnings data show median pay one year after graduation was $43,255 in general psychology and $39,559 in American Sign Language. Prospective students seeking health-related communication fields will find strong graduate alignments with established clinical reputations.

In 2025, Gallaudet University enrolled 1,335 students across all levels. Returning undergraduates form the core campus population, alongside a substantial graduate division of 460 students. International and Asian students comprise focused segments within each division. Among returning undergraduates, Asian students accounted for 5.2% of the cohort, while international students represented 4.4%. In the graduate division, international students constituted 5.7% of enrollment, with Asian students comprising a comparable share. Both cohorts also reflect significant representation from Hispanic and Black students alongside a White plurality. Gender distributions differ markedly between levels: undergraduate cohorts are evenly balanced between men and women, while graduate programs are predominantly female. Overall, the student profile reflects a specialized, close-knit academic environment.

The student body at Gallaudet University shows a clear age separation between undergraduate and graduate programs. In 2025, undergraduate enrollment stood at 866 students, dominated by traditional college-age youth. Students aged twenty to twenty-one formed the largest undergraduate bracket at 26.4%, followed by those aged eighteen to nineteen. This concentration centers undergraduate life on young adults completing their degrees in early adulthood. In contrast, the graduate division enrolled 460 students, representing an older academic group. Graduate students aged twenty-five to twenty-nine made up the largest portion at 25.9%, alongside students in their early twenties and thirties. Consequently, the university maintains distinct student profiles: a traditional undergraduate community alongside an experienced graduate cohort engaged in advanced studies.

International student enrollment at Gallaudet University has trended downward over the past decade, especially within the undergraduate ranks. In 2025, international undergraduates made up 3.4% of undergraduate enrollment, down from earlier years, though this proportion remains higher than 50% of peer schools in a comparison group of 30 similarly ranked private comprehensive universities. Graduate international enrollment has experienced less fluctuation, with international scholars accounting for 5.7% of all graduate students in 2025. When looking at degrees awarded, international graduates tend to cluster within specific academic disciplines. At the bachelor's level, international representation reached its highest concentration in Business Administration and Management, where international students comprised 13.3% of graduates, while also appearing in visual arts and deaf studies. At the master's level, international degree recipients were most prominent in non-profit and organizational management, as well as social work. For prospective international students, these figures show established pathways into practical management and service-oriented fields.

Applicants considering Gallaudet University can explore a variety of other higher education options across the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. Just 1.7 kilometers away lies Howard University, a national university ranked 73rd in the 2027 U.S. News rankings. Also in close proximity is The Catholic University of America, located 1.8 kilometers away and ranked 148th among national universities. Slightly further into the District, students will find George Washington University, situated 3.0 kilometers from campus and holding a national university rank of 59. Another major nearby institution is Georgetown University, located 4.3 kilometers away and ranked 23rd nationally. These neighboring colleges offer diverse academic environments and institutional scales within minutes of Gallaudet.

Campus safety reports for Gallaudet University show that the overwhelming majority of recorded incidents involve campus conduct enforcement rather than severe violence. In 2025, the university registered a crime rate per 1,000 students of 173.9 under Forward Pathway's weighted metric, which assigns lower weight to disciplinary referrals. Looking at cumulative category totals across the three-year span from 2023 to 2025, substance violations formed the predominant share of campus records, led by 854 liquor law disciplinary referrals and 309 drug law disciplinary referrals. In addition to substance policy enforcement, campus authorities recorded smaller numbers of interpersonal incidents over those same years, including stalking, dating violence, domestic violence, and vehicle theft. These metrics reflect close residential oversight and strict enforcement of student conduct rules. Prospective students and families reviewing safety conditions should note that regular administrative monitoring accounts for the high overall referral volume across residence halls.